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Lucas di Grassi wins inaugural Formula E race in Beijing after huge crash
Wreck in final turn cements win for di Grassi
By Autoweek Staff
Lucas di Grassi inherited victory in the inaugural race of the new Formula E Championship in Beijing when leader Nicolas Prost and second-place Nick Heidfeld collided at the final corner of the final lap.
Venturi driver Heidfeld, who had jumped from fourth to second when the drivers changed cars midrace, made a move on the leading e.dams Spark-Renault SRT_01E into the final tight-left hander after getting a run out of the penultimate corner. Prost made a clear move to his left as Heidfeld tried to edge alongside and the two cars collided.
The German driver careened out of control into the barriers and flipped, but was able to extricate himself from the wreck unaided.
Steering damage prevented Prost from making the final corner, which allowed di Grassi to sweep through to make history as the first race winner of the all-electric championship in his Audi Sport-supported Abt entry.
"We were a bit lucky, but I was happy to be in the right place today," said di Grassi. "I didn't see the accident, but the main thing is that Nick is OK, which proves that this car is absolutely safe."
Prost was subsequently sanctioned by the race stewards for his part in the incident. The Frenchman will receive a 10-place grid penalty at the next round of the series in the Malaysian cityof Putrajaya at the end of November.
Heidfeld laid the blame for the incident firmly at the door of his teammate at the Rebellion Racing World Endurance Championship team.
"I had been saving power and got a really good run out of the second to last corner; I was better on braking for the last corner and he braked early anyway," he explained. "I was next to him and he moved over on me. That is clear, but he is a friend of mine, so I know he didn't do it on purpose."
Franck Montagny collected second place in his Andretti Autosport Spark-Renault after making progress from eighth on the grid. The Frenchman gained a place on the opening lap at the expense of teammate Charles Pic, was up to fifth by the time the pitstop sequence started in the middle of the race and then resumed in fourth after stops before inheriting the runner-up spot at the finish.
Sam Bird, who had started 12th in his Virgin entry, took the final podium spot, after Abt driver Daniel Abt was penalized for using more electric energy than allowed. Abt was demoted to 10th behind Pic, Mahindra driver Karun Chandhok, who lost out to both Bird and the Frenchman after his battery overheated in the closing laps, Jerome d'Ambrosio, Oriol Servia and Nelson Piquet Jr.
1. Lucas di Grassi
2. Franck Montagny
3. Sam Bird
4. Charles Pic
5. Karun Chandhok
6. Jerome d'Ambrosio
7. Oriol Servia
8. Nelson Piquet Jr.
9. Nicolas Prost
10. Stephane Sarrazin
11. Takuma Sato
12. Daniel Abt
13. Jaime Alguersuari
14. Nick Heidfeld
15. Michela Cerruti
16. Katherine Legge
17. Ho-Pin Tung
19. Sebastien Buemi
20. Jarno Trulli
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